#Arapahoe County Criminal Defense Attorneys

[beardedmrbean]

A district judge has ordered former Arapahoe County Human Services caseworker Robin Niceta to pay $3 million to Aurora City Councilwoman Danielle Jurinsky after Jurinsky sued Niceta for slander, libel and outrageous conduct. Jurinsky's legal action said Niceta slandered her by allegedly filing a false report accusing Jurinsky of abusing her infant son.

"In my lifetime I will not see $3 million from Robin Niceta," said Jurinsky, who said she was not concerned about the monetary award but wanted "to hold Robin accountable for her actions against me."

In 2022, Jurinsky appeared on a radio talk show and called then-Aurora Police Chief Vanessa Wilson "trash." At the time, Wilson and Niceta were intimate partners.

The next day, someone made an anonymous phone call to the Arapahoe County Department of Human Services Division of Child and Adult Protective Services- where Niceta worked- claiming they had personally observed Jurinsky sexually abuse her nearly three-year-old son. A full-scale investigation was launched.

Jurinsky said she was wracked with fear during the two-week investigation, "I could lose my son, they could come take my son away any time they want."

Authorities ultimately determined the accusations were unfounded and that Niceta had made the call. Niceta was charged with filing a false report and has pleaded not guilty in the case.

Jurinsky filed a defamation lawsuit against Niceta, who failed to appear for any of the court dates, leading Arapahoe County Judge Elizabeth Beebe Volz to enter a default judgment against Niceta. In a written decision last month, Volz ruled Jurinsky suffered harm to her reputation, humiliation and emotional distress. The judge wrote that Niceta's conduct "was willful and wanton and done with actual malice. Further, the Court finds that the conduct was especially egregious since it was done by a person tasked with protecting children and knew full well that her false report would result in an investigation and potential separation of a young vulnerable child and a parent, with unknown potential harm to that child." 

Volz awarded Jurinsky $1.5 million in actual damages and $1.5 million in punitive damages. 

"This award is made, in part, 'to send a message that this kind of conduct cannot and should not be tolerated by anybody,'" wrote Volz.

"This is not a debt Robin will pay off in her lifetime," reiterated Jurinsky. "It won't happen and I'm well aware of that." 

She said the order was important though as it continues to hold Niceta "accountable for her actions against me," said Jurinsky.

Jurinsky said while she and her lawyer are attempting to garnish Niceta's wages and collect the debt, she is more focused on Niceta's pending trial, scheduled for May.

"I hope for the maximum six years she is facing. I hope she is sitting behind bars for all six of those years and I have nothing to garnish- nothing. I want her in a prison cell for six years," said Jurinsky. 

CBS News Colorado attempted to reach Niceta via email but did not receive a response. A call and email to Niceta's criminal defense attorney did not lead to a response. Jurinsky said she believes Niceta is now living in New Mexico.

Niceta is facing other legal action stemming from her time with Arapahoe County Human Services and Jurinsky said Niceta messed with the wrong elected official. 

"Our children are off the table. I hope to live rent-free in Robin Niceta's head for the rest of her life," said Jurinsky.

[greatwombatbird]

[colawteam]

What Does a Criminal Defense Attorney in Arapahoe County, Colorado Do? | COLAW Team

A criminal defense attorney in Arapahoe County, Colorado is responsible for representing individuals who have been charged with a crime. These lawyers work to ensure that their clients' rights are protected and that they receive a fair trial. In some cases, they may also be able to negotiate a plea bargain on their client's behalf.

Criminal defense attorneys in Arapahoe County, Colorado typically work for either the public defender's office or a private law firm. Those who work for the public defender's office are appointed by the court to represent indigent defendants who cannot afford to hire an attorney on their own. Private attorneys, on the other hand, are usually hired by the accused person or their family.

COLAW Team is best criminal defense attorney in Arapahoe County, COLAW Team can provide invaluable assistance to those who have been charged with a crime. If you or someone you know has been accused of a crime, it is important to contact COLAW Team asap.

Both public and private criminal defense attorneys in Arapahoe County, Colorado are required to adhere to the same ethical standards. They must maintain client confidentiality and cannot reveal anything that could jeopardize their client's case.

An attorney's job is to zealously advocate for their client. This means that they will do everything in their power to ensure that their client is found not guilty. In some cases, this may mean going to trial. However, in many instances, it may be possible to reach a plea bargain with the prosecution. This allows the accused person to avoid a lengthy prison sentence and possibly have their charges reduced or dismissed altogether.

COLAW Team is the best criminal defense attorney in Arapahoe County. They have a team of experienced attorneys who are passionate about defending their clients' rights. If you or someone you know has been accused of a crime, it is important to contact COLAW Team as soon as possible. They will do everything in their power to ensure that you receive a fair trial and that your rights are protected.

[masterofd1saster]

CJ current events 27oct22

Susan Sarandon is famous for being a bleeding heart liberal, but she posted

https://twitter.com/SusanSarandon/status/1581991330812551169

a video of Oakland, California.  She’s not calling for lock them up; I suspect she genuinely wants to take care of the homeless and clean up the mess.  Frankly, Baghdad looked better and cleaner in 2007.

***

UCLA’s Nassar

A jury convicted UCLA campus gynecologist Dr. James Heaps of sexually assaulting patients.

Heaps was indicted on 21 sex-related counts involving seven patients. He has been convicted of five counts and acquitted of seven.

He was found guilty of three counts of sexual battery by fraud and two counts of sexual penetration of an unconscious person. He was taken into custody over the objection of his defense attorney, who wanted him to remain free on bail. Judge Michael Carter declared a mistrial on the nine counts on which jurors were deadlocked.

The split verdict means that the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office could bring Heaps back to court on the nine counts that the jury could not make a decision on.

More than 500 women have accused Heaps of sexually assaulting them during his tenure at UCLA, spanning from 1983 to 2018. At one point, he was the highest paid doctor in the entire University of California system.

A report released by the UC system earlier in 2022 found that UCLA repeatedly failed to properly investigate abuse allegations, allowing him to remain in practice even during an internal investigation.***

In February, the school agreed to pay $243 million to settle 200 lawsuits brought against UCLA by women.***

In May, that total was raised to more than $700 million, with an additional 112 women being paid out as a result to accusations and lawsuits against Heaps.

Sentencing is set for Nov. 17, and a prosecutor said Heaps is facing 28 years in state prison. Prosecutors say that if the sentence is satisfactory, it's unlikely they'll bring Heaps back for another trial.*** https://www.cbsnews.com/losangeles/news/ex-ucla-gynecologist-james-heaps-indicted-on-21-sex-related-counts/

***

Watch suspect fatally shot

CENTENNIAL – The Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office is releasing the body worn camera video of three deputies involved in an officer-involved shooting that occurred at the Ivy Crossing apartment complex at 7545 E. Harvard Ave. The shooting happened on March 3, 2022, at approximately 7:40 a.m. The Sheriff’s Office is releasing the body worn camera recordings pursuant to Colorado Revised Statutes § 24-31-902(2)(a). The video footage has been redacted in part to protect the privacy interest of the suspect.***

around 15:00 https://youtu.be/QW3GH24OLPM

DA is investigating.

***

Wheels of justice....

The man accused of killing 10 people at a Boulder King Soopers last year remains incompetent to proceed in a criminal trial, but a judge said he will likely be restored in the near future.

Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa, 23, remains hospitalized at the state’s mental health hospital in Pueblo.

Prosecutors, defenders and Boulder’s chief judge have received more than 2,200 pages of records and details about the hospital’s work to restore him to competency. When that happens, Alissa can assist in his own defense and understand the more than 100 criminal charges he faces in connection to the shooting.

Alissa was admitted to the Colorado Mental Health Institute in Pueblo last December after being assessed by four different doctors. Boulder District Attorney Michael Dougherty said the defendant has shown improvement in his hospitalization, at times, but it hasn’t been maintained.

“According to the doctors, there is a reasonable likelihood he will be restored to competency in the near future,” Boulder District Attorney Michael Dougerty said. “People want to see justice in this case. That will happen, that day will come.”

Roughly 10 family members of victims sat silently in the seats behind District Attorney Michael Dougherty, who told the judge they were frustrated with the state hospital.*** https://www.cpr.org/2022/10/21/victims-of-boulder-kings-soopers-shooting-say-theyre-frustrated-after-alleged-shooter-ruled-incompetent/

***

Left to spend more time with his jail family

The campaign manager for former Democratic Florida Rep. Charlie Crist's bid to unseat incumbent Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis appears to have been arrested in Maryland this week, before the campaign said he would leave to handle a "family matter."

Austin Durrer, who has worked for Crist since 2016, was arrested Tuesday in Cambridge, Maryland, on second-degree assault charges in a case classified as "domestic violence," according to Dorchester County court records obtained by Fox News Digital. Durrer was released on $10,000 bond after his arrest, and the court ordered him to surrender firearms and vacate his home.

Durrer's trial is slated for Dec. 7. Based on the charges in the case, he faces up to 10 years' imprisonment.*** https://www.foxnews.com/politics/fl-gov-candidate-charlie-crists-top-staffer-left-campaign-citing-family-matter-he-was-actually-arrested

***

Exceeding the limit on little old right wing nuts

IONIA — “I didn’t shoot her on purpose. She was a right wing nut. I’m sorry I shot her.”

These were among the comments made by Richard Harvey, 74, of Lake Odessa while speaking to a 911 operator just moments after allegedly shooting Joan Jacobsen, 83, of Lake Odessa in the shoulder after an alleged dispute over Michigan’s Proposal 3 ballot proposal.

Joan Jacobsen, 83, of Lake Odessa testifies on Wednesday in Ionia County District Court about being shot on Sept. 20 while she was going door-to-door to talk to absentee voters about Michigan’s Proposal 3 ballot proposal. — DN Photo | Elisabeth Waldon

Harvey appeared for a preliminary examination on Wednesday in Ionia County District Court alongside his defense attorney, Ionia County Chief Public Defender Walter Downes.

After nearly two hours of testimony, Judge Raymond Voet bound Harvey over for trial in Ionia County Circuit Court on all four charges — assault with a dangerous weapon (felonious assault with a rifle), a possible four-year felony; weapons firearms careless discharge causing injury, a possible two-year high court misdemeanor; and weapons firearms reckless use, a possible 90-day misdemeanor.

Voet noted that he took into consideration Jacobsen’s age and stature (she is 4-foot 11-inches tall and weighs about 119 pounds) as factors when determining whether to bind over the matter for trial.

“It’s clear to me that Mr. Harvey did fire a warning shot to send a message to Ms. Jacobsen, and then he also shot her,” Voet said. “Thankfully he didn’t kill or paralyze her considering how close it was to her spine. We’re lucky that no one was more seriously hurt.

“The court could ask why there isn’t a felony firearm charge as well, but that’s not my business.”*** https://www.thedailynews.cc/articles/i-didnt-shoot-her-on-purpose-she-was-a-right-wing-nut/

Only four years?

***

Why was he ever out of prison?

*** Raymond Moody, 62, pleaded guilty to murder, rape and kidnapping for the slaying of 17-year-old Brittanee Drexel.

Before the attack on the teen, he had already served two decades in prison for raping an 8-year-old girl in California.*** https://www.foxnews.com/us/sex-offender-raped-murdered-teen-says-monster-he-gets-life

Is there some shortage of child rapists?  Will the economy collapse if we don’t have enough child rapists walking the streets?  

until today, this Court has not held that capital child-rape laws are unconstitutional, see ante, at 428 (Coker “does not speak to the constitutionality of the death penalty for child rape, an issue not then before the Court”).  Consequently, upholding the constitutionality of such a law would not “extend” or “expand” the death penalty; rather, it would confirm the status of presumptive constitutionality that such laws have enjoyed up to this point.***

With respect to the question of moral depravity, is it really true that every person who is convicted of capital murder and sentenced to death is more morally depraved than every child rapist? Consider the following two cases. In the first, a defendant robs a convenience store and watches as his accomplice shoots the store owner. The defendant acts recklessly, but was not the triggerman and did not intend the killing. See, e. g., Tison v. Arizona, 481 U. S. 137 (1987).  In the second case, a previously convicted child rapist kidnaps, repeatedly rapes, and tortures multiple child victims. Is it clear that the first defendant is more morally depraved than the second?  J. Alito, dissenting in Kennedy v. Louisiana, 554 U. S. 407 (2008) at 465, 466.

***

Holy smokes!

A Washington state woman escaped after her estranged husband allegedly kidnapped her from her home in Lacey, stabbed her and buried her alive in the woods earlier this week, according to court documents.

Police responded to the Rossberg Street home of Young An, 42, on Sunday afternoon after a dispatcher answered a call and overheard "muffled screaming and sounds of a struggle," the Lacey Police Department said in a statement. "There was just constant screaming, and it was unknown if it was medical or not," according to court documents. The dispatcher also overheard banging and a barking dog — but then it got quiet.

An later told police she dialed 911 from her Apple watch after her hands were bound behind her back with duct tape, according to a probable cause statement obtained by Fox News Digital. She said her estranged husband, Chae An, eventually smashed her watch with a hammer and dragged her out of the home.*** https://www.foxnews.com/us/washington-woman-escapes-buried-alive-husband-police

***

America’s crime problem

DALLAS — A suspect was shot and arrested by Methodist Hospital police after he fatally shot two hospital employees Saturday morning, hospital officials have confirmed.

Police say the suspect, 30-year-old Nestor Hernandez, has been charged with capital murder. Hernandez is currently on parole for aggravated robbery and was wearing an active ankle monitor.

"The Methodist Health System Family is heartbroken at the loss of two of our beloved team members," Methodist Health System Executive leadership said in a statement. "Our entire organization is grieving this unimaginable tragedy. During this devastating time, we want to ensure our patients and employees that Methodist Dallas Medical Center is safe, and there is no ongoing threat. Our prayers are with our lost co-workers and their families, as well as our entire Methodist family. We appreciate the community’s support during this difficult time."

At about 11:15 a.m., Dallas officers responded to Methodist Hospital in the 1400 block of N. Beckley Avenue after reports of a shooting, according to preliminary reports.*** https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/crime/suspect-in-custody-after-two-shot-at-dallas-hospital/287-cdd33e2a-bbd8-4f00-adcd-9f0c4e383cfc

***

Good advice. https://www.gocomics.com/pearlsbeforeswine/2022/10/23

***

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Days after Wawa announced two Center City locations are permanently closing for safety concerns, CBS3 has learned nine Wawa's in Northeast Philly and Bucks County are shutting down overnight following a pair of armed robberies.

On Thursday night, that suspect remains on the run.

The robberies happened in Bucks County but a store in Somerton is on the list. The Wawa is open to customers until about midnight, but the store will then close and it won't reopen until 5 a.m.

"Safety comes first before your coffee," Kim Dorman said.  *** https://www.cbsnews.com/philadelphia/news/wawa-close-stores-armed-robberies-philadelphia-bucks-county/

***

https://abc7chicago.com/video/embed/?pid=12363238 

***David Martin, 32, is a lifelong New Yorker who has taken the subway since middle school and was taking it to work on Friday when he was attacked at a Brooklyn station for no reason, by someone he barely saw.

"In the blink of an eye, I was pushed with full force into the train tracks," said Martin.

Police say the attack was unprovoked. While Martin says he may not have made contact with the train or the third rail, he is still badly hurt.

"People were told that I had no injuries, but I am laying in bed with a broken collarbone and my face is so swollen. And mentally I don't know how to even get through this," he said.*** https://abc7chicago.com/man-pushed-on-subway-tracks-nyc-caught-video-crime-surveillance-camera/12365588/

***Tues

Merely an accusation

LOUISIANA, Mo. — The police chief in a small Missouri town has been charged with felony drug crimes after his girlfriend’s brother was found dead from an apparent overdose in the official’s home.

William Jones, 50, was charged Wednesday with second-degree drug trafficking, possession of a controlled substance and tampering with evidence. He was jailed on $150,000 cash-only bond.

Jones is the police chief in Louisiana, Missouri, a town of 3,200 residents along the Mississippi River, about 90 miles north of St. Louis.

Jones’ girlfriend, Alexis Thone, 25, also was charged with second-degree drug trafficking and possession of a controlled substance. She was jailed on $100,000 cash-only bond.

Pike County Sheriff Stephen Korte said an off-duty Louisiana police officer called authorities just before 10 p.m. Tuesday to report a death at the home occupied by Jones and Thone. Responders found Gabriel Thone, 24, dead.*** https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/missouri-police-chief-charged-drug-trafficking-overdose-death-home-rcna53206

Ed Buck says “only one overdose?  How posh.” ***

subway thug caught

A Brooklyn career criminal has been busted in Friday’s caught-on-video subway shoving — and the suspect’s kin say they were even so fed up with him that they posted signs outlawing him from their home.

Lamale McRae — who previously did 20 years behind bars for attempted murder — was identified as a suspect in last week’s attack with the help of the surveillance footage and facial-recognition technology, police sources said.

The 41-year-old suspect was arrested by the Queens Warrants Squad on Monday near his Brooklyn home, sources said.

Relatives told The Post that they were already far too weary of McRae’s antics and finally posted a sign on the stairwell in their Brooklyn building urging anyone who spotted him to call the cops.

“If you see a brown skin guy sleepin [sic] in the hallway please call the police he is trespassing,” the sign reads.*** https://nypost.com/2022/10/24/career-criminal-busted-in-random-brooklyn-subway-shove/

>24 arrests.

***

Was America a civilized, western democracy before March 1, 2005?

Ethan Crumbley, the Michigan 16-year-old accused of gunning down four Oxford High School students and injuring seven others in a November 2021 shooting, has entered a guilty plea Monday to all the charges facing him.

Crumbley, appearing at the Oakland County Courthouse in Pontiac, faces a total of 24 charges, including murder and terrorism charges.  

Judge Kwamé Rowe accepted the plea and said a sentencing hearing will take place after the next in-person hearing, scheduled for Feb. 9, 2023.***

Crumbley's parents, James and Jennifer Crumbley, also face four counts of involuntary manslaughter each.

Prosecutors argue that the couple should be held responsible for the shooting because they had bought Ethan a gun on Black Friday, Nov. 26, 2021. In a motion filed earlier this year, Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald referenced a social media post from Jennifer Crumbley in which she said that the parents had purchased the pistol as a Christmas gift for their son.

"He didn't just snap," McDonald wrote in a Sept. 9 motion to admit evidence, "he followed a pathway paved for him by prior shooters, and enabled by these defendants."*** https://www.foxnews.com/us/oxford-school-shooting-ethan-crumbley-pleads-guilty-charges

***

Surprised? Suspect charged with murdering 2 healthcare workers at Dallas hospital has a long criminal history

***According to the 2015 indictment, Hernandez and a female suspect attacked a woman who was returning home from work. The victim had her hands taped together and tape put over her eyes, while Hernandez took her phone, car, and $3,000 in cash from a school fundraiser. The victim sustained a broken nose and a fractured eye.

Hernandez pleaded guilty in May 2015 and was sentenced to 8 years in prison. 

He was released on Oct. 20, 2021 on parole with a special condition of electronic monitoring, according to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.

Hernandez was granted permission to be at the hospital to be with his significant other during and after delivery, according to TDCJ.

FOX 4 dug into Hernandez's criminal history and found violations for robbery, possession, theft, burglary, assault of a public servant and more in Dallas County alone.***  https://www.fox4news.com/news/suspect-charged-with-murdering-2-nurses-at-dallas-hospital-has-a-long-criminal-history

***

“I can tell you this: political violence should not be tolerated by anyone. Our side or their side, we don’t tolerate political violence. In this country, we decide who governs not by street mobs, we decide who governs at the ballot box,” Sen Marco Rubio https://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics-government/election/article267779722.html

A campaign canvasser for Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) was attacked and seriously injured late Sunday night by an assailant who told him Republicans weren’t welcome in his neighborhood, Rubio and local police said Monday.

Javier Lopez, 25, of Hialeah, was arrested at the scene by responding cops who found the unidentified victim with cuts and bruises.

Hialeah police said the victim was distributing campaign materials in the Miami-area city when Lopez approached him and said “he was not allowed to walk on the sidewalk and pass out fliers in his neighborhood.”

The canvasser walked across the street to avoid Lopez, but Lopez followed him, officials added.

“Mr. Lopez then struck the victim multiple times in the face causing the injuries,” a police spokesperson said.*** https://nypost.com/2022/10/24/rubio-canvasser-brutally-beaten-by-man-who-told-him-gopers-not-allowed/

***

Sort of like mentioning Voldemort

Earlier this month, San Francisco Mayor London Breed was asked in an interview about her pledge to crack down on the crime, drugs and lawlessness that have plagued her city for the last several years. In her response to the question, Breed asked in exasperation, “Why do people who deal drugs have more rights than people who try to get up and go to work every day and take their children to school?”

The line received some applause. Asked to elaborate, the mayor said this:

Let’s talk about the reality of this situation. There are, unfortunately, a lot of people who come from a particular country—come from Honduras—and a lot of the people who are dealing drugs happen to be of that ethnicity. And when a lot of the arrests have been made, for people breaking the law, you have the Public Defender’s office and staff from the Public Defender’s office, who are basically accusing and using the law to say, ‘You’re racially—you’re racial profiling. You’re racial profiling.’ Right? And it’s nothing ‘racial profile’ about this. We all know it. It’s the reality. It’s what you see. It’s what’s out there.

Breed’s comments did not go unnoticed. Soon after, the San Francisco Latinx Democratic Club put out a statement condemning her “racist and xenophobic comments.” The club described her remarks as “appalling” and demanded an apology.

That apology was, unfortunately, forthcoming***

The mayor shouldn’t have said anything of the sort. She said nothing offensive or inaccurate in her original comments. In fact, it’s her critics who are being dishonest about what’s happening in the open-air drug market of San Francisco’s Tenderloin District and who are doing a disservice to the poor, immigrant communities on whose behalf they claim to speak. And by conflating professional drug dealers with regular immigrant families, it is they who are being xenophobic and racist.***

The professional drug dealers who work in the Tenderloin and the adjacent SoMa neighborhood are all Honduran nationals. This is because Mexico’s Sinaloa drug cartel, which does not practice Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in its hiring practices, recruits the dealers from Honduras and smuggles them into the United States. So, if you arrest any number of these dealers, they’re all going to be Latino. This is not “racial profiling.” This is just a fact. ***

They’re known to carry guns and machetes, and to threaten users who owe them money. Jacqui Berlinn told me that her son, Corey, an addict in the Tenderloin, was attacked by a drug dealer with a machete and hospitalized from his injuries. Another mother, Gina McDonald, told me that her daughter, a recovering addict, was threatened by her dealer with a knife over $100.  These dealers are not victims of society. They’re victimizers. ***  https://www.commonsense.news/p/san-franciscos-mayor-apologizes-for

***

Jury issue

Harvey Weinstein’s defense told the jury that there is absolutely no evidence against their client and that every woman who will testify in his trial is an actress who will be playing a role on the stand — all to fit the narrative of #MeToo, which they characterized as an “asteroid” of a movement that “burst forth like a supernova” with Weinstein as the poster child.

Weinstein’s attorney Mark Werksman told jurors that they should prepare to hear a “firehose of false and unprovable allegations” from women who agreed to have consensual sexual interactions with Weinstein, but years later, are now embarrassed and lying about what really happened.

“Look at my client,” Werksman said, pointing to Weinstein. “He’s not Brad Pitt or George Clooney. Do you think these beautiful women had sex with him because he’s hot? No, it’s because he’s powerful.”

Weinstein’s attorney told the jury that Hollywood has changed today, but back in the day, “transactional sex” was par for the course. “Sex was a commodity” for “rich and powerful men, like my client,” Weinstein’s attorney said, even getting its own nickname: the casting couch.

“Transactional sex … it may have been unpleasant … and now embarrassing,” Werksman said. “[But] everyone did it. He did it. They did it.”*** https://variety.com/2022/film/news/weinstein-lawyers-metoo-jennifer-siebel-newsom-bimbo-1235413157/

*** wed

You know you’re a sociopath when....

Jefferson County’s district attorney on Monday filed charges against two pit bull owners after their dogs killed an 89-year-old woman and seriously injured a 12-year-old boy last month.

Kayla Mooney, 33, faces four counts of unlawful ownership of a dangerous dog, while Victor Bentley, 29, was charged with two counts of the same offense, the district attorney’s office said Monday in a news release.

Mary Gehring, 89, and her grandson were allegedly attacked by the two dogs Sept. 14 in the 15000 block of West 1st Avenue in Golden. Gehring was taken to the hospital, where she later died, while her grandson was flown to Children’s Hospital.

Both dogs were euthanized after the incident.***https://www.denverpost.com/2022/10/24/golden-pit-bull-attack-charges/

***

Don’t be stupid

BOULDER COUNTY, Colo. — A jury must decide whether or not a man obstructed police officers when he pulled out his phone and livestreamed the deadly shooting at a King Soopers in Boulder last March.

Dean Schiller's trial for police obstruction charges started Tuesday. During court, the jury heard testimony from three officers who responded to the scene.***

Prosecutors said Schiller was distracting police officers when he had his phone out and was recording the scene. In court, prosecutors played the livestream video taken by Schiller and in it, you can hear police officers repeatedly telling him to back away or leave the scene.

Schiller would often times yell back. In some cases he would move back but did not leave the scene.

The defense argued that Schiller was listening to police officers and backing away from them when they ordered him to. They said he was not preventing officers from doing their job and said even though Schiller's actions may have been abrasive they did not rise to a criminal level.*** https://www.denver7.com/news/boulder-king-soopers-shooting/jury-trial-begins-for-man-who-livestreamed-king-soopers-shooting

*** 

Would you ever have heard of her if she were not a WNBA star?

A Russian court on Tuesday rejected an appeal by U.S. basketball star Brittney Griner of her nine-year prison sentence for drug possession, a step that could move her closer to a possible high-stakes prisoner swap between Moscow and Washington.

The eight-time all-star center with the WNBA's Phoenix Mercury and a two-time Olympic gold medalist was convicted Aug. 4 after police said they found vape canisters containing cannabis oil in her luggage at Moscow's Sheremetyevo Airport.

Griner, 32, was not at the Moscow Regional Court hearing but appeared via video link from a penal colony outside the capital where she is held.***

Reflecting growing pressure on the Biden administration to do more to bring Griner home, Blinken took the unusual step of revealing publicly in July that Washington had made a "substantial proposal" to get Griner home, along with Paul Whelan, an American serving a 16-year sentence in Russia for espionage.

Blinken didn't elaborate, but The Associated Press and other news organizations have reported that Washington has offered to exchange Griner and Whelan for Viktor Bout, a Russian arms dealer who is serving a 25-year sentence in the U.S. and once earned the nickname the "merchant of death."*** https://www.cbsnews.com/news/brittney-griner-wnba-appeal-russian-court-against-9-year-sentence/

***

good deal

----  News ----

Fresh Start - Help with Outstanding Warrants

People with active warrants for non-violent, non-VRA, low-level misdemeanors, traffic charges, and some probation felonies in Jefferson or Gilpin counties have an opportunity to resolve their case or get a new court date without being arrested. The first-ever Fresh Start event in Colorado’s First Judicial District was held in August 2021.  It was held again in April of 2022.   The event will be held again on November 5th,  2022  at the Jefferson County Combined Court in Golden CO.  Click The link below for more information:

Fresh Start Event

_________________________________________________

Kevin Klinkerfues - 1st Judicial District Probation Manager      720-772-2300 or email at 01Probation@judicial.state.co.us

Eric Peratt - 1st Judicial District Probation Manager 720-772-2300 or email at  01Probation@judicial.state.co.us    

***

100?

A woman in southeast Washington, D.C., was hospitalized Wednesday after being wounded in a shooting in which up to nearly 90 shots were fired, according to authorities.

Reports that the woman is pregnant have yet to be confirmed, Washington Police Cmdr. John Branch said in an afternoon briefing with reporters. The shooting came from multiple vehicles, which are still at large, at around 3 p.m., he said.***

Police recovered approximately 90 shell casings from the scene, according to Branch, who also noted that the woman who was hospitalized was a property manager where the shooting took place.

So far, no witnesses have been identified.*** https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/courts/shooting-southeast-dc-leaves-woman-hospitalized

***Thurs

Rising Crime Rates Are a Policy Choice

By William P. Barr

Oct. 26, 2022 12:18 pm ET

The violent crime surge was preventable. It was caused by progressive politicians reverting to the same reckless revolving-door policies that during the 1960s and ’70s produced the greatest tsunami of violent crime in American history. We reversed that earlier crime wave with the tough anticrime measures adopted during the Reagan-Bush era. We can stop this one as well.

Studies have repeatedly shown that most predatory crime is committed by a small, hard-core group of habitual offenders. They are a tiny fraction of the population—I estimate roughly 1%—but are responsible for between half and two-thirds of predatory violent crime. Each of these offenders can be expected to commit scores, even hundreds, of crimes a year, frequently while on bail, probation or parole. The only time they aren’t committing crimes is when they’re in prison. For this group, the likelihood of reoffending usually doesn’t recede until they reach their late 30s.

The only way to reduce violent crime appreciably is to keep this cohort off the streets. We know with certainty that for each of these criminals held in prison, there are hundreds of people who aren’t being victimized.***

Progressives say we can’t afford to keep violent predators in prison. On the contrary, we can’t afford not to. A 1992 Justice Department report, “The Case for More Incarceration,” showed that the cost of keeping a chronic violent criminal in prison is small compared with the costs of letting him roam the streets.***

https://www.wsj.com/articles/safe-streets-are-a-policy-choice-incapacitation-incarceration-state-federal-prison-violent-crime-1990s-reagan-bush-barr-obama-sentencing-bail-11666785403

***

The one place you should be safe

The Diocese of Buffalo has settled a two-year-old lawsuit with New York Attorney General Letitia James over charges that it covered up sexual abuse cases involving priests.

The deal doesn’t include any financial penalties but institutes structural reforms and appoints the state to exercise some oversight of the diocese.

The 2020 lawsuit accused the Buffalo Diocese of covering up sexual abuse cases involving more than two dozen priests. The suit charged diocesan leaders of failing to report the accused priests to the Vatican and of misappropriating charitable donations to support their defense.

The agreement between the diocese and the attorney general’s office directs the diocese to appoint a child protection policy coordinator whose responsibilities include making sure the diocese’s child protection policies are abided by, an Oct. 25 press release from the Diocese of Buffalo said.

A former assistant district attorney, former criminal defense attorney, and former parish life coordinator at a local parish, Melissa Potzler, has been appointed to the role. *** https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/252654/new-york-state-to-assume-some-oversight-of-buffalo-diocese-in-sex-abuse-settlement

***

Back so soon?

Senator Robert Menendez, D-N.J. faces a new federal investigation, according to two people familiar with the inquiry.

Prosecutors in the Southern District of New York have contacted people connected to Menendez in recent weeks, the sources said. They have sent at least one subpoena in the case, according to a person connected to the inquiry.***

Menendez and a Florida eye doctor, Salomon Melgen, were indicted in 2015 for an alleged arrangement under which the doctor provided flights on a private jet and lavish vacations in exchange for the senator’s help with government contracts and other public favors. Menendez’s lawyers argued that the two men were simply good friends. The inquiry ended in a mistrial in 2017 after the jury failed to reach a verdict. (Melgen was convicted in 2017 of medicare fraud, and received clemency from President Donald Trump in 2021.)*** https://www.semafor.com/article/10/25/2022/senator-robert-menendez-under-investigation-again

*** 

Another reason why the 1st Amendment is important

Russian President Vladimir Putin was dubbed a "fighter of the Antichrist" by a top religious figure as rhetoric referring to the war in Ukraine as a "de-Satanization" operation escalates.

Russian pundits and media presenting the invasion of Ukraine as a holy war are not new, with Russian ideologues frequently portraying the conflict as a struggle between the religious and traditional Russia versus the decadent and secular West. Russian Orthodox Christians and Muslims in the country have united in their opposition to the progressive values of the West, which they view as symbolized in the post-Maidan government in Kyiv. But recently, rhetoric from these camps has escalated into describing the West as "satanic," starting with Putin's use of the term in his speech announcing the annexation of several eastern Ukrainian territories, which has since been widely adopted by his key allies and Russian state media. *** https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/foreign/putin-fighter-antichrist-desatanization

***

Son, I’m disappointed by your behavior

The mother of a suspect accused of thrashing a canvasser for Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) over the weekend is refusing to bail him out, insisting he take responsibility for his actions.

Diana Rosa Lopez, a registered Republican whose son Javier Jesus Lopez, 25, was arrested Sunday for the canvasser beat down, condemned her son's actions and revealed that he has voiced remorse for the brutal beat down.*** https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/campaigns/mom-rebuffs-rubio-claim-politics-motivated-attack-canvasser

***

Killed boy & the Dancing Grannies on camera

A jury found Darrell Brooks Jr. guilty on several criminal charges, convicting him of killing six people after driving an SUV into a crowd at a Christmas parade in Waukesha, Wisconsin, last November.

The jury found Brooks guilty on all six counts of first-degree intentional homicide, facing a mandatory life sentence on each count. Brooks was found guilty on every criminal charge brought against him, totaling 76. Brooks is set to reappear in court on Monday to schedule sentencing.***

The jury reached a verdict in Brooks’s homicide trial Wednesday morning, coming to a decision in just over three hours. Brooks had pleaded not guilty to all counts against him.

Brooks attempted to plead not guilty by reason of insanity, but he withdrew the insanity plea last month. His attorneys then filed a motion to remove themselves from the case, prompting Brooks to ask to represent himself instead. Waukesha County Circuit Court Judge Jennifer Dorow granted the request last week, ruling that Brooks possessed "the minimal competency necessary to conduct his own defense."***

The verdict comes less than a year after Brooks crashed through a crowd at Waukesha’s Christmas parade on Nov. 21, 2021, killing an 8-year-old boy who was in attendance as well as several members of the “Dancing Grannies” group.  https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/courts/jury-convicts-darrell-brooks-in-waukesha-christmas-parade-attack-trial

***

Harriers are old & busted, but

A former U.S. military pilot and flight instructor who ran an aviation consultancy in China is in custody in Australia awaiting an extradition request from his homeland on an undisclosed charge, officials said Wednesday.

Daniel Edmund Duggan, who says he is a former U.S. Marine Corps major, was refused bail when he appeared last Friday in Orange Local Court in the New South Wales state rural town of Orange northwest of Sydney, court records show.

Australian Federal Police arrested him that day “pursuant to a request from the United States,” a police statement said.*** https://www.marinecorpstimes.com/veterans/2022/10/26/former-us-marine-pilot-who-worked-in-china-arrested-in-australia/

Former members of friendly nation militaries are also way too helpful to CCP.

18 U.S.C. §794. Gathering or delivering defense information to aid foreign government (a) Whoever, with intent or reason to believe that it is to be used to the injury of the United States or to the advantage of a foreign nation [gives them], either directly or indirectly, any ... information relating to the national defense, shall be punished by death or by imprisonment for any term of years or for life, except that the sentence of death shall not be imposed unless....

Statute does not use the word classified, just nat'l defense info.

***

[newstfionline]

Mennonite investigator sent to jail after refusing to testify in death penalty hearing

By Noelle Phillips, The Denver Post, February 28, 2018

A 67-year-old Mennonite woman spent a second day in the Arapahoe County jail Tuesday after she refused to testify for the prosecution in a death penalty case.

Greta Lindecrantz on Tuesday morning was found in contempt of court after she told District Judge Michelle Amico she would not answer questions in the witness stand because of her religious beliefs. Lindecrantz has been called to testify on behalf of the prosecution in an appeals hearing for Robert Ray, who was sentenced to death in 2009 for ordering the murder of Javad Marshall-Fields and Vivian Wolfe, who were witnesses in another murder case.

Lindecrantz worked as an investigator for Ray’s defense team, but those attorneys have not called her as a witness. However, the prosecution wants to question her about her work during the investigation and original trial, said her attorney, Mari Newman. All of her work already is a part of the official court record and there really is no reason for her to take the stand again, she said.

Lindecrantz sat in the courtroom wearing an orange jumpsuit with her hands shackled as Newman argued that she should be released because she is being punished by the courts for religious beliefs.

Testifying would go against her moral and religious views, Newman said.

“Imprisonment has not been effective,” Newman said. “It will not be effective tomorrow.”

But Amico said she had made her decision and was sticking to it. She told Newman she could appeal to a higher court. Until then, Lindecrantz would go back to jail.

Newman had asked for a lesser punishment, but Amico responded, “How would less punishment be effective? I’ve imposed jail and she’s still refusing to testify.”

After the hearing, Newman gathered on the courthouse lawn with Lindecrantz’s husband, Dave Sidwell, and supporters from the metro area’s two Mennonite congregations.

“She has a fundamental religious belief against the killing of other human beings and specifically against state-sanctioned killing in the form of the death penalty,” Newman said. “She has refused to testify as a witness called by the prosecution--and the reason, the one and only reason she’s refused to testify, is because to do so would violate her firmly held religious beliefs against the death penalty.”

Because of her religious conviction, Lindecrantz has two choices--stay in jail or abandon her faith, Newman said. On Monday night, Lindecratz was in a cell with nine women, some of whom were sick all night because they were detoxing from drugs. Lindecrantz is old enough to be those women’s mothers, she said.

“For the court to imprison her until she is broken, until her will is broken, and she abandons her faith and her view that she cannot participate in state-sanctioned killing is an abomination,” Newman said.

Sidwell, who also is a Mennonite, said he supported his wife’s stand, saying they both were adamantly opposed to the death penalty.

“She’s not going to change her mind,” Sidwell said. “It’s, to me, a pointless pursuit.”

The Rev. Vern Rempel, pastor of Beloved Community Mennonite Church in Englewood, said he counseled Lindecrantz over the weekend about what she would do when called to the stand Monday morning. Those discussions included figuring out a way that Lindecrantz could comply with the courts without betraying her religious conviction. On Sunday, the congregation gathered around Lindecrantz to pray over the decision.

“On Sunday, she said she had clarity and was ready to do this,” he said. “Really, we felt the strength of her commitment.”

Mennonite opposition to the death penalty dates to 1525, Rempel said.

“This is not something that is not a mood of Greta’s,” he said. “Or a fancy. Or something she’s making up. It has been a lifetime commitment for her.”

While Lindecrantz is spending her second night in jail, the legal drama has been playing since Jan. 20, when Newman first filed a motion in an attempt to keep her client off the witness stand. But Amico repeatedly denied the motion, saying in an order written on Feb. 16 that allowing people to refuse to participate in death penalty cases on religious grounds would disrupt the justice system.

Newman said she plans to appeal to a higher court for Lindecrantz’s release. Until then, Lindecrantz remains in jail without a bond. Lindecrantz is scheduled to appear in court at 8:45 a.m. Wednesday.

The court could keep Lindecrantz in jail for up to six months, Newman said.

Nancy Leong, a law professor at the University of Denver’s Sturm College of Law, said Lindecrantz, the judge and the prosecution are in a rare standoff.

There are several ways it could end, Leong said.

Lindecrantz could change her mind and testify; her lawyer could figure out a compromise such as providing a written statement to the prosecution; or the prosecution could decide Lindecrantz’s testimony isn’t worth the wait, especially if she digs in and is willing to sit in jail for months, Leong said.

The bottom line, though, is the law doesn’t see her religious view as an exemption to contempt of court.

“It’s well-established First Amendment law that any kind of religious view does not provide an exemption to criminal law,” Leong said.

[anna-2807]

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[douglasacogan]

Many Colorado sentences now uncertain after court ruling precluding imposition of imprisonment for certain offenses and probation for others

A helpful reader alerted me to this interesting story from the Denver Post headlined "Hundreds of prisoners can seek new trials, freedom after Colorado Supreme Court rules sentences illegal." Here are the details of a shock being sent through the state's criminal justice system:

The Colorado Supreme Court has ruled the sentences of hundreds — perhaps thousands — of criminal defendants serving time in Colorado prisons, some for violent sexual crimes, are illegal, giving many of them a renewed shot at freedom.

The court last month stunned the state’s judicial system when it ruled that defendants cannot be sentenced to both prison and probation for charges in the same case, deeming the sentences illegal and unenforceable.  The ruling applies to any defendant sentenced to prison followed by a probation term, and gives each the right to force prosecutors to start over.  Those already out of prison theoretically could request their plea deal be overturned, legal experts said.

“This is going to result in a ton of litigation,” defense attorney Scott Robinson said. “This appears clearly to go against what many defense lawyers and prosecutors have assumed to be true for years, that different types of sentences can be imposed on different charges in the same case.”

Prosecutors in at least four judicial jurisdictions, including Denver, have relied on the dual sentence as part of the plea agreement process, mostly for sex crimes where a defendant could be sentenced to an indeterminant number of years in prison and authorities wanted to ensure lifetime supervision should the defendant be released.

“My biggest concerns are that we can no longer do this and what do we do with those we’ve already done it to? What if they’re already in prison? Are they all released?” asked Mesa County District Attorney Daniel Rubinstein.  “If the sentence is invalidated, we could be back at square one, or worse.”

The high court’s decision is based on a 2014 Boulder County case in which a jury found Frederick Allman, 67, guilty of various theft and forgery crimes.  He was sentenced to 15 years in prison and a 10-year probation term that was to be concurrent with the parole he’d serve upon his release.  The Supreme Court, in a 7-0 decision, said the 2015 sentence by District Judge Andrew Macdonald was illegal.  [The decision is available at this link.]

“…The determination that probation is an appropriate sentence for a defendant necessarily requires a concordant determination that imprisonment is not appropriate,” Justice Brian Boatright wrote in the court’s opinion issued Sept. 23. “The probation statute gives courts guidance and discretion in choosing to grant probation.  However, it requires a choice between prison and probation. … The legislature intended to allow courts to choose only one or the other.  Probation is an alternative to prison.”

Attorney General Phil Weiser’s office has until Oct. 28 to file a petition for the court to re-hear the case.

The court’s decision primarily affects defendants who signed plea agreements, a number that could reach into the thousands as 95% of all criminal cases are settled with plea deals. Defendants convicted by a jury, as was Allman, would simply be resentenced since the jury verdict remains unchanged.

Prosecutors explain that a plea agreement would be handled differently than a guilty verdict because a defendant agreed to a specific outcome in exchange for the plea. Because the sentence is deemed illegal, defendants can rescind their original agreement. “If the sentence is invalidated, we would go back to reaffirm the plea agreement, or even start over,” Rubinstein said.

The Colorado District Attorney’s Council said a majority of the state’s 22 judicial districts won’t be affected, but at least four of them — 2nd (Denver), 18th (Arapahoe, Douglas, Elbert, Lincoln), 20th (Boulder) and 21st (Mesa) — have used sentences that fit those under scrutiny.

Attorney Tom Carberry, who won an earlier appeal for a client with a similar illegal sentence, said he’s uncovered at least 56 other cases with illegal sentences, the majority of them sexual assaults.  Three others are drug cases and two involve economic crimes.  All are in Denver. “Each of these defendants has the right to a lawyer appointed at state expense,” Carberry said of the breath of the Supreme Court decision.  “That will run into the millions” of dollars.

Denver DA Beth McCann did not elaborate on the scope of the problem in her jurisdiction, but said she’d rather not have to find out.  “We are very supportive of the Colorado attorney general’s plan to ask the court to reconsider its decision,” McCann said in an emailed statement. “We are concerned that if the decision stands, it will significantly impact many cases that have already been resolved.”

Other prosecutors are also trying to determine what the decision will mean for them.  “This decision will have a significant impact, for offenders and victims,” Boulder District Attorney Michael Dougherty said in an emailed statement to The Post.  “A defendant could come back to court seeking a hearing to correct an illegal sentence, or file motions alleging ineffective assistance of counsel. For survivors of sexual assault, this decision will be particularly harmful because they thought the case was over and the outcome certain.”...

In the 18th Judicial District, hundreds of cases could be impacted, many of them involving children, some going back years, according to Chief Deputy District Attorney Chris Gallo, who heads the special victims unit that handles about 500 cases a year.  “For several years now, we’ve been pursuing resolutions where there were prison and probation components, trying to balance a punishment aspect and a longer supervisory aspect to the sentence,” Gallo said.  “I can’t even fathom the ultimate outcome of this decision, how many could be released, or its impact.  But more than half of our cases would be affected.”

Mesa County’s Rubinstein said although only about a half-dozen cases in his jurisdiction are affected, they are significant.  “The pleas would be invalidated, and it could be that a new offer is rejected,” Rubinstein said, noting prosecutors cannot change the terms of the agreement without beginning the case anew. “How does that work for a guy with five years in prison already.”  

Judges could theoretically say they’re not bound by the plea agreement and a defendant could take his chances with a new sentence, Rubinstein said. “(A judge) might think there’s been substantial time (in prison) and a judge won’t want to load up with additional punishment,” he said, “and the defendants might say they’ll take their chances with the judge.”  A good defense attorney, however, could find exploitable cracks, he said.  “They’ll look to see if the case is, perhaps, worse,” Rubinstein said.  “Witnesses move, they die, they don’t wish to participate. The chances of a trial could be better from their viewpoint.”

from RSSMix.com Mix ID 8247011 https://sentencing.typepad.com/sentencing_law_and_policy/2019/10/many-colorado-sentences-now-uncertain-in-what-of-court-ruling-precluding-imposition-of-imprisonment-.html via http://www.rssmix.com/

[chiefpundit-blog]

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[valiantchildstudentme-blog]

What Happens If Someone Is Found Incompetent to Stand Trial? ~ PsychLaw Journal

New Post has been published on http://gampangqq.link/what-happens-if-someone-is-found-incompetent-to-stand-trial-psychlaw-journal/

What Happens If Someone Is Found Incompetent to Stand Trial? ~ PsychLaw Journal

Being found incompetent to stand trial does not mean a person will never face his charges. Incompetent to Stand Trial is not a legal defense like Not Guilty By Reason of Insanity is. It is a matter of legal fact that must be decided by the court.

I have been asked numerous times if James Holmes will escape punishment if he is found incompetent. Many people are legitimately assuming the issue of competence will be raised in his case, and it is understandable for people to be worried that it might be a loophole in the law, or a way for him to avoid punishment.

A little background on legal competence to stand trial: it is incredibly important for an individual to understand what is happening in court, to be able to think rationally about courtroom proceedings, and to be able to work with an attorney to assist in developing a defense. In Colorado, where Holmes will be tried, he must have a rational and factual understanding of the criminal proceedings against him and he must have sufficient present ability to rationally cooperate with his attorney to assist in his defense. If he does not have either of these abilities, it must be determined that his “incompetence” is caused by either a mental disability or developmental disability.

If you want to read the actual Colorado law, you can look it up here: C.R.S. 16-8.5-101 et seq.

If a person is not competent but faces trial anyway, there are multiple grounds for appeal if convicted. The person can argue that he had ineffective counsel, he can argue that he did not receive due process, and he can make a claim that he did not have an actual opportunity to confront his accusers, tell his side of the story, or present evidence in his defense. If a conviction (and thus a sentence) is overturned, there is a chance the perpetrator can walk free.

Because of the risk of overturning a conviction on appeal, it is my guess that the Arapahoe County DA will raise the issue of incompetency with the court if the public defender does not. The DA will want to make sure Holmes’ competency-related abilities are documented in the record before he faces his charges so there aren’t any questions about them afterward if he is convicted.

The Colorado Mental Health Institute at Pueblo (CMHIP) Campus

With that in mind, what happens if the issue of competency is raised in People v. James Holmes? The judge cannot ignore a request for the competency issue to be examined. The court will order a competency evaluation, and most likely, Holmes will be sent to the Colorado Mental Health Institute at Pueblo, the state mental health hospital, to undergo a competency evaluation. I know most of the psychologists who work at this hospital, and they are excellent. Holmes will be evaluated by some of the best forensic psychologists in the country. After a few weeks of evaluation, these psychologists will offer an opinion on whether or not Holmes is competent. It will then be up to the judge to make the final legal ruling.

If Holmes is deemed competent to stand trial, his legal case will proceed just like normal. If he is found incompetent, he will be remanded back to the hospital in Pueblo, where he will undergo “restoration to competency” treatment. Every 90 days, psychologists will update the court on Holmes’ progress in treatment.

One of two things will happen at this point: Either 1) he will be restored to competency and will face his charges just like normal, or 2) he will not be restored to competency and will not face his charges.

But wait, didn’t I just write that being found incompetent is not a free pass? How is not facing multiple first-degree murder (and countless other) charges not a free pass? Here is the catch: In Colorado, a person can be locked in a maximum security wing of the state hospital, which is very similar to prison, until he is restored to competency or for the maximum term of confinement that could be imposed for the offenses with which he is charged.

To say it in plain English, if Holmes is not restorable to competency, he will be locked in Pueblo for at least 12 life sentences, even though he was never convicted of a crime. There is a chance that the defense could successfully argue that the court should drop the charges against him if he is unrestorable or that the judge could allow him out of custody on bond, but given the nature of his alleged crimes, both of these possibilities is extremely unlikely.

So, even if Holmes is found incompetent, the only way he will go free is if he is restored to competency, takes his case to trial, and is found Not Guilty on every one of the dozens of charges he faces.

I hope this helps. Thanks for reading– Max Wachtel, Ph.D.

www.CherryCreekPsychology.comwww.Facebook.com/drmaxwachtelwww.Twitter.com/mwachtel

Source

[duaneodavila]

Kopf: E.A. Cook III

Edward Addison Cook III (Ed), 88, died Monday, Aug. 13, 2018. Ed was the best lawyer and the best person I have ever known. I loved Ed.

In 1884, Ed’s grandfather came out to Lexington, Nebraska,[i] from Illinois after reading law. He submitted to an examining panel before the District Court of Dawson County and was, that same day, admitted to practice. Later, Ed’s father took over. The Cook law firm celebrated 100 years of continuous practice in 1984, and I was privileged to attend the celebration as Ed’s law partner. Ed practiced law for five decades, and I was honored to have spent 13 of those years with him. Judge Jim Doyle later became our partner as well.[ii]

Jim and I will soon fly out to attend a barbecue in Texas where Ed retired near the end of his life to be close to his children. At that gathering, Jim and I and a host of others will eat barbecue, drink cold drinks, and remember our dear friend. We will marvel that Ed never once complained, nor told us about, his decades-long struggle with the leukemia that would ultimately take him. The barbecue will perfectly mirror Ed’s humility (and sense of humor). Ed would never have allowed anything so pretentious as a “celebration of life.”

In a general practice, like the one we had, a lawyer takes most everyone who walks through the front door.[iii] Ed’s knowledge of the law was stunning. Ed knew how to structure a one-bank holding company. He could do an IRC section 1031 “like-kind” exchange in his sleep. He could get you a liquor license too, although Ed’s grandfather, the first Edward Addison Cook, was a strict Methodist who fought against demon rum.[iv] And if you were involved in a divorce, Ed would calmly walk you through it with a minimum of pain. And if your husband was made a vegetable by the negligence of a semi-truck driver, Ed would see to it that you received the largest insurance settlement in Nebraska’s history (at that time). And when it came to criminal law, Ed had cut his teeth as a young prosecuting attorney for the county, so he knew what was up and what was down.

I don’t know how to adequately describe Ed to you. But I need to try.

Ed was a wry man. He served in the U.S. Army Counter-Intelligence Corps during the Korean War. For reasons he never fully understood, Ed was stationed in Kansas City. Ed assured those who asked about his service that he “fought in the battle of Kansas City” and, so far as he knew, no North Koreans lived to tell the tale. He also completed his law degree while saving Kansas City from the Chicoms and their pickled-cabbage-eating comrades.

Ed was a deeply cultured man. He and his dear wife Betty[v] travelled the world. Ed was the treasurer of the Museum of Nebraska Art and president of the Nebraska Cultural Endowment. Ed and Betty were active supporters of the University of Nebraska at Kearney Honors Program and opened their home to loads of foreign students. They received the UNK Distinguished Service Award in 2007.

Ed was a banker, but an unusual one. In later years, and while still practicing law, he bought a bank that was about to fail and quickly turned it into a thriving institution. About to become president of the state bankers’ association, Ed, using his skills as a lawyer, stopped a fellow banker from grievously mistreating minority shareholders when the banker and majority shareholder did a deal to sell the bank. That did not sit well with the clannish members of the bankers’ association, and Ed’s selection as president-in-waiting was rescinded. Ed didn’t care a wit.

Ed was a farmer. After living many years in town, Ed bought a dead-level section (640 acres) of the most fertile ground imaginable along the south bank of the Platte River.[vi] Ed designed and built a modern home facing the hills, overlooking the immense corn field, with floor-to-ceiling book shelves and a library ladder on wheels to access a vast collection of books. My kids used to love to go out there to see the bald eagles soaring above the river and then landing in the cottonwood trees. I remember the story my late wife told of going out to see Ed and Betty one freezing March day and walking into their elegant home, only to see a baby calf being fed by Betty with a bottle. Ed took our dog to the farm after one of my children became very allergic to the dog’s dander. Buffer, our dog, had a happy life at the farm until a coyote got him.

Ed was an utterly kind and completely honest man. I never once heard him raise his voice, whether in or out of court. If he had to do a cross-examination of an adverse witness, it was done in an effective, yet respectful and utterly decent, way. If he told you he would do something, you didn’t need to write his promise down. His word was all you needed. Ed was the man that Diogenes went searching for.

And then there was the time that Ed, as appointed defense counsel, saved a killer from the death penalty, angering many of the 5,500 souls who lived in Lexington. Words fail me.

Richard G. Kopf Senior United States District Judge

[i] Lexington began as a frontier trading post in 1860. It was known as Plum Creek.

[ii] The tiny firm produced the youngest U.S Attorney for the District of Nebraska and a judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. That was Don Ross, Ed’s brother-in-law. I clerked for Judge Ross and that connection brought me to Ed.

[iii] Well, there were exceptions, but not many. My favorite exception was this: When a client said he or she thought suit was warranted “as a matter of principle,” Ed would quietly tell the client that he would happily fight for principle so long as the client was willing to pay for it. Funny how that focused the client’s mind.

[iv] Ed not so much.

[v] I am happy to say that Betty survives Ed.

[vi] Close to that beautiful farm is the site of the Plum Creek Massacre. A war party of about 100 Cheyenne and Arapaho Indians attacked a wagon train on the Oregon Trail in 1864, killing 13 men and capturing a woman and a boy. That event was the first significant flashpoint in the Indian War of 1864.

Kopf: E.A. Cook III republished via Simple Justice

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A Colorado criminal defense investigator, jailed for refusing to testify in a death row inmate's appeal because of her religious beliefs, has agreed to comply with a prosecution subpoena that could set her free, her attorney said on Sunday. Greta Lindecrantz, 67, was jailed for contempt of court nearly two weeks ago by Arapahoe County District Judge Michelle Amico after she declined to testify in the case of Robert Ray because her Mennonite faith opposes capital punishment, her lawyer, Mari Newman, said. "Based on her firmly held faith-based beliefs which do not allow her to assist those who are seeking the death of another, Ms. Lindecrantz refused to testify as a witness for the prosecution seeking to kill Robert Ray," Newman said in a court filing.

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'Martyr': DA slams Mennonite private eye jailed for refusal to testify

A Colorado prosecutor says that a Mennonite woman who has been jailed for refusing to testify in an execution case because of her religious beliefs wants to be a “martyr” for the anti-death penalty movement. “This is somebody who is trying to defeat the system,” Arapahoe County District Attorney George Brauchler told on Thursday. Greta Lindecrantz, a private investigator for defense attorneys, was subpoenaed by the DA to discuss the work she did in the case of Robert Ray, who is blaming his legal team for his conviction and death sentence.

The judge hearing the appeal tossed Lindecrantz, 67, in jail on Monday after she refused on the witness stand to answer any of the prosecution’s questions, citing the anti-violence tenets of her faith. “I feel like I’m having to choose between you and God,” Lindecrantz told the judge on Wednesday when she refused, once again, to testify. But Brauchler said Lindecrantz has no one to blame but herself for the predicament.

He said she had to have known when she took the investigator job — which earned her $390,000 — that she could be called to the stand. “Now we have a person who injected herself into the case, took a ton of taxpayer money and now that she’s asked to stand up and testify, she says she just can’t do this,” Brauchler said. Lindecrantz’s attorney, Mari Newman, told that her client’s testimony isn’t necessary.

The defense attorneys have already testified, and the investigation notes are part of the court record. “The decision to hold her is entirely a punitive one,” said Newman, who filed emergency motions on Thursday in an effort to get her client freed. But Brauchler said Lindecrantz’s testimony is actually key because Ray, who ordered the murder of a witness against him in another homicide trial, is claiming that she wasn’t qualified to be an investigator and didn’t do a good job of digging up information that could have spared his life.

He said that while Judge Michelle Amico listened to closing arguments on Wednesday, she left open the possibility that prosecutors could present their rebuttal to Ray’s ineffective counsel argument later, if Lindecrantz relents. “The judge said, ‘It is indispensable to these proceedings for me to hear from her,'” Brauchler said. Karen Steinhauser, a former prosecutor who is now a criminal defense attorney and is not involved in the Ray case, said the only way to avoid testifying is by exercising a legal privilege, like the Fifth Amendment protection against self-incrimination or spousal privilege.

She said someone’s religious beliefs don’t constitute privilege.At the same time, she said, it’s possible prosecutors could get by without Lindecrantz’s testimony and are simply making an example of her. Since Monday, Lindecrantz has become something of a cause celebre with Mennonite church groups and capital punishment opponents rallying outside the courtroom and packing the courtroom.

Greta Lindecrantz is living her faith, despite the personal hardships that requires. Amen, Sister Greta! https://t.co/OZZmSc6cdL “It’s been one of [our] key practices that we do not kill people for any reason.That means not going to war but the death penalty also comes into that,” said Vern Remple, one of the pastors of the Beloved Community Mennonite Church.

“She feels like she would be aiding in a process that is seeking to kill a person.” Remple said he spoke with Lindecrantz about her decision. “She really struggled with this,” he said.”It wasn’t an easy or glib choice for her.” It’s unknown how long the judge intends to keep Lindecrantz locked up, but the maximum for contempt is six months.

Brauchler wouldn’t say if that’s too harsh a punishment, but added, “I don’t think she gets to flout the law.” He also said Lindecrantz and Newman could have filed a motion to put the Ray case on hold while they appealed the judge’s order compelling her testimony.”But they were willing to go to jail to create a martyr-like aspect for the anti-death penalty position,” he said. Newman said it was cruel for prosecutors to force someone whose faith eschews violence o testify in a proceeding that could lead to the execution chamber.

“The one and only reason she is being called as a witness for the prosecution is they are seeking to execute someone,” the lawyer said.”If the death penalty weren’t on the table, she would testify.” Source: NBC News.

‘Martyr’: DA slams Mennonite private eye jailed for refusal to testify was originally published on NewsVomit

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